The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-08-04

the stream % see the painted wonder moving
without oars or saIls-the grauicst sight.
many vet aver that they ever SAYS in their
lives. In l>9-2S steamer, multiplied even
ON the smallest rivers of the west. and river
towns grew up by steamboat traffic where
now the steamers whistle is never heard
The multiplication Of steamboats, wa. almost
as rapid, once the system was proved "a Sic
ce,s, as that of railroads bias since been; set
men were long time experimenting before
they gained success.
Paddle wheels for propling vessels wero
used before the Christian era; bat thefr-t re-
corded attempt ~ employ steam for the pur-
pose WAS IN 1913 hy Bla.cOde Garav William
Henry If Chester county. pa. pot % model
steamboat on the Conesto-a river in 1868,
and D'Auxir0n and perier achieved quite "a
success in France in l71i-5 The Marquis De
Jouirroy continued their experiments Ten
years with some success; and in ,~i James
Rumsey ran a boat four miles an houro the
Potomac John Fitch got his first expert
mental steamer ON the Delaware DOB ll>6. and
IN ll4Jexcltoi general astou-hment Us bring
ing beer sfce.l up to seven and bali mile. an
hour Meanwhile many successes had been
attained ln Great Britain. and Robert Fulton
ran steamboat on the Seine in i>1 lie
soon returned % America and tegau That
series of labors which resulted Boa starting thc
Clermont, Aug 2, isG, from Sew York for
Albany. and making the trip with au0ferago
speed Of five miles per hour Mankind We're
apparently mot STD enthusiastic thrn as now
land much scarcor in America, yet they
made "a great tO-iO over Fult0u's success. ADD
very Justly pronounced 30 the Inauguration of
"A new era. The craft was 13D feet long. with
is feet beam, 2 feet depth and lGj toms
burden; the paddle wheels We're % feet in
diameter and the boiler was eJ feet long.
7feetdecpaud feet widel immediately after
ward the Phoenix was put on-a Side wheel
steamer andaftera tripnear NewN 0rk went
by SEA % the Delaware. Thereafter tle de-
Nelopment of steamboat traffic was heWilder-
iaeiy aWd
In1Sll Fulton and Livingston commenced
building steamers at rittsburg; in lol2 the
Comet commenced regular trips con- the Clyde,
IN Scotland. and in 1916 large steamer went
the whole length II the Ohio AVID the Mis-Is-
sippi below Cairo. exciting everywhere the
widest enthusiasm.
On the western rivers the progress was
amazing. and in the old record, wc find mat
ter for wonder at the amount Of traffic on
very small streams Wabash aud Green rivers
for instance E.riy m lN,2 the Florence
whistled a reveille % the squatters whore
now stands the city Of New Harmony, and n
the May rise" 81 that year She landed q big
cargo 40 1erre Haute, exciting great en-
thu,iasm IN S}3 the Pl0ughbOy commenced
regular trips on the Wabash and in fhc rise
Of 1874 the boat went up to the mouth Of
Raccoon creek, in Pofke county. and soon
after o. Lafayette, the head Of navigation
W. find cause % smile boz the OLD laws and
orders which show what immense Importance
the pioneers ~ Indiana attached % their
water routes. one could not erect "a dam on
any creek near the river till be- had applied %
the court got viewers uVpoiuted and recorded
their verdict that his dam would not sob
siruct nav cation" Now it is almost imp1s
sible 30 yet listener O. any proposition To-
improve the river For thirty years, though
the season Of boating grow shorter as the
country was cleared of timber, the traffic was
immense; as many as sixty steamer, one ,oa-
son passed up % Lafayette and return
Now the summer volume Of The Wa
bash at the above city l. scarcely in ok
cess of the raft requirements, and the whistle
Of steamer is rarely heard above Iere
Haute The railroads killed an the schemes
for improvements
Tho rapid railroad development "a phe-
nomenon which grows more wonderful the
moro 10 Is studied has also struck fearful
blow ut river commerce n the Missouri and
Mississippi, and one may now stay several
days in the season az Omaha Nanktou or
other up river cities without seeing steamer
land As early as 1852 There was an immense
trade at st Paul. mot long after boats were